18 November 2018 - The Montenegrin Chamber of Economy is organizing a presentation of Montenegrin businessmen within the national stand of Montenegro at the forthcoming 25th International Fair 2018 by Klik Ekspo, which will be held in Tirana, Albania, from November 21st to 24th, 2018.

At the International Tirana Klik Ekspo 2018 Fair, Montenegrin producers will present their production programs at the national stand of Montenegro, in the Palace of Congress, on the stand of 40 square meters. The participation in the international fair allows exhibitors and businessmen to present their products and place them on new markets, as well as to promote the existing ones and acquire new business contacts and businessmen cooperation.

Klik Ekspo International Tirana Fair is one of the largest international fairs of entrepreneurship in the region, which takes place every year in Tirana, within 8,000 square meters of exhibition space. In 2017, over 380 direct exhibitors and organizations from around 25 countries exhibited at the fair. At the Tirana International Fair, international and national enterprises present their latest techniques, innovations and services in the areas of trade and commerce. This exhibition gathers exhibitors from engineering and construction materials industry, energy sector, agriculture, IT sectors, catering services, car materials, food products, furniture industry, metal processing machines, textile industry and many others.

Participation at the stand includes the provided equipped space for exhibiting promotional materials and samples that will enable companies to present themselves to other participants and visitors to the Fair. The cost of renting the booth will be borne by the Chamber of Economy.

If you have an interest in joining the Montenegrin delegation that will participate in the Tirana International Fair, please register your participation no later than Friday, November 19, 2018.

Read more information about Chamber of Economy of Montenegro and 25th Tirana International Fair here.

November 16, 2018 - Aleksandar Dzikic, the Buducnost coach, did not celebrate the ABA League title, so he calmly awaited the first Euro league celebration.

Buducnost Voli defeated Baskonia 99:84 in the seventh round of this prestigious competition.

"Baskonia is a big team that made us hit our borders. We won, that's the most important thing," Dzikic said.

Buducnost broke the Euro league record by the number of three shots - 21 shots from the line 6.75 were scored.

“We were scattered all around. We hit some goals in last second, and I am a better coach when we hit these shots," said Džikić.

Edwin Jackson was the most effective.

"Edwin is a player who is a beast when he is confident. What I liked most was that the teammates saw he was ready to receive balls, and that's progress," said Dzikic.

"Every player needs self-confidence, and we had some tough moments and matches, this was our best game so far. When we do not lose the ball, when we have only a few mistakes, we can do good things," said Dzikic.

The energy was high during the entire match.

"I think the team deserved the applause for fighting and for their energy. The fact that some disagree with that, that's fine, everyone has the right to their own opinion," Dzikic said.

Buducnost had many problems in preparing for the match, as Omić and Danilo Nikolic entered the game without training. The pressure, after six defeats, was great.

"We create the greatest pressure for ourselves because we are not here 'just for fun'. If we were here 'just for fun', nothing would hurt us," he said.

November 19, 2018 - Organized by the Secretariat for Culture and Social Activities, the Secretariat for Youth, Sports and Social Affairs and other institutions and organizations of the Municipality of Tivat, within the event "November Days", from Monday to Saturday, 24 November, will see 20 events including exhibitions, concerts , sports and tourist manifestations.

The program entitled "Radovići to Their City" starts on Monday at 11 am in the Cultural Center "Uroš Rautović" in Radovići.

The annual award ceremony for the most successful athletes is planned on Tuesday at 11 am in the Multimedia hall of Tivat Municipality. The exhibition "Tivat in the Great War" is scheduled for 19 am, and will be set up in the newly renovated DTV Partizan hall.

On Wednesday, 21 November, a series of events will mark Tivat Day. At 8am there will be a Race of Peace from the church of St. Roko in Donja Lastvi to the Monument to the Dead of Warriors. A half an hour later the run of the students of the "Drago Milović" Primary School begins. Tivat's Delegation and the Association of Fighters of the National Liberation War at 9 am plan the visit to the Monument to the Dead of Warriors.

Following is the traditional ceremony of handing over the city flag of the Boka Navy in front of the Tivat Municipal Building and the festive defiance of the Boka Navy and City Music in the streets of the city to the Pine promenade. The Tivat Order of the Boka Navy will submit a report to the President of the Municipality of Tivat on Pine, followed by the performance of the St. Tripun round dance. In addition to the Music Education Society Tivat (City Music) and the Boka Navy, the program at Pine will also include local dance and folklore groups. Following will be the Festive Tivat's Municipal Assembly's Session, and after that, from 12 am to 14 pm, the Secretariat for Culture and Social Activities and the Tivat Tourism Organization will organize a manifestation "To the Town for Its Birthday" at the Magnolia Square.

A new fire truck worth 60,000 euros will be delivered to the Rescue Service on Thursday at 10 am. The evening part of the program will be performed by the Middle Music School. They will hold a concert at 8 pm in DTV Partizan hall.

The children's parliament will sit in the Multimedia hall on Friday at 10 am. At 7 pm the students of the Middle Music School in the school Concert hall will present the concert "She lives to be heard", while in 8pm fashion fans can watch the show by Radojka Tepavac and the photo exhibition by Mihael Đuričić in DTV Partizan.

The event “November Days” is traditionally joined by the Sailing Club Delfin which is organizing the "Tivat Day" regatta. The regatta will be held on Saturday, 24 November at 10 am. Unlike earlier events on the occasion of the Municipality Day, this year, apart from the small regatta boards, Delfin organizes competition of team sailing ships. Follows the concert of Klapa Jadran at the Great Hall of Culture Center of Tivat, scheduled for Saturday, 24 November at 8pm. By this concert Klapa Jadran will mark the 45th anniversary.

17 November 2018 - The tourist organization of Budva represents the tourist offer of the Budva Riviera and Montenegro at the 22nd Fair of Tourism and Catering, called "Autumn Fair", which is being held from 15-18 November in Banja Luka.

In addition to the Tourism Organization of Budva as the carrier of the Montenegrin offer, the country's tourist offer is also presented by the local tourist organizations of Kotor, Tivat, and Herceg Novi.

The interest of Banja Luka for the tourist offer of Montenegro is traditionally high, while a considerable number of media companies are interested in the tourist offer Montenegro present.

Assistant Director of Tourist Organization of Budva, Vukoslav Rucović, met with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Government of the Republika Srpska Stevo Mirjanić, and on that occasion discussed future cooperation in the field of tourism.

The number of guests from the market of Bosnia and Herzegovina is growing every year along the Budva Riviera, which is confirmed by the statistics. This year, for the January-November period, 37.566 guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina stayed on the Budva Riviera with total of 277.108 overnight stays, while in 2018 as total, this number was increased to 44.435 guests, or 316.076 overnight stays, which represents an increase of 18% compared to the same period of the previous year.

By direct communication with the visitors of the stand, representatives of local tourist organizations had the opportunity to promote both the tourist offer for the next season and the New Year's programmes. Tourist Organization of Budva took the opportunity and invited potential guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina to spend their first days of 2019 in Budva. Under the slogan "See you in Budva! Twentieth time!" with a rich and various programme, Budva will mark 20 years in a series of organized New Year's programmes on the square in front of the Old Town in Budva.

There are about 150 exhibitors at 60 booths at the fair in Banja Luka.

18 November 2018 - Montenegro must not slow down its progress on its road to the European Union and it should be focused primarily on closing the chapters. It would be desirable to open Chapter 27 during Austria’s European Union presidency and for the country to complete the Action Plan for Chapters 23 and 24, as noted by the Ambassador of Slovenia to Montenegro, Mitja Močnik. He also said Montenegro has been an example of good practice to other countries of Balkans region.

Slovenia and Montenegro cherish good relations and based on the positive experience and practice in project implementation, Slovenia perceives Montenegro as a priority programme for European Union integration in the region.

“The two states have been implementing a programme-based bilateral development cooperation, mostly for a two-year period of time. The 2018-19 programme is going to be signed on November 23, 2018. The total value of the project amounts to 1,848,949 EUR. Development projects usually refer to the less developed North Montenegro. Slovenia has been offering assistance to Montenegro for this year as well, also through a technical assistance, funded by the European Union’s instrument for pre-accession assistance. Our experts are mostly engaged in Montenegro when compared with other countries of the region,” noted Ambassador of Slovenia to Montenegro Mitja Močnik.

According to him, Montenegro should focus on closing the negotiation chapters, but also added that Montenegro represents a source of stability in the region.

“Some European Union member states are not inclined to speedy opening/closing of the chapters, which does not mean they oppose the enlargement process. Montenegro is a leader in negotiation talks, having in mind dynamics and the number of opened chapters. We must beware of the fact Montenegro restored the independence in 2006 and that it is extremely significant to achieve genuine progress in strengthening macroeconomic, fiscal and tax stability,” Močnik concluded.

02 November 2018 - Shopping mall "Bazar" in Podgorica is hosting the fair "VII Bazaar of Montenegrin products", which will take place on November 3 and 4.

The fair will present a wide range of agricultural products, Montenegrin brandy, coffee and tea, various non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, organic food and decorative items.

The aim of the fair is the promotion of Montenegrin traditional products, as well as their improvement, presentation to the visitors of the fair in the best way and finding new channels of sales. In addition, the goal is to recommend and bring Montenegrin authentic products closer to potential larger customers, like shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, hotels’ suppliers, distributors, professional gastronomes etc. With the exhibited products and accompanying activities that makes this fair recognizable, the organisers want to draw attention to a wide range of products from Montenegro that should be consumed as much as possible by the country’s people, which should result in the increase in their production.

All visitors of the fair will be able to get on-site information on the supply, use and purpose of Montenegrin products. With the exhibition of traditional products and direct contact with their producers, the organisers want to emphasise Montenegrin culture and confirm the quality by which the country is recognisable.

In the hope that the number of Montenegrin producers will grow, organisers invite everyone to visit the shopping mall Bazar and to support another promotion of quality and useful Montenegrin products.

The fair will be open on Saturday, November 3 from 8 am to 10 pm and Sunday, November 4, from 8 am to 9 pm.

Raštan is Known As Natural Medicine from Ancient Times

It has been in use throughout the Mediterranean since the earliest times. This is evidenced by the depictions on the background paintings and frescoes in the pyramids. It is often found in the depictions of the Greek god Zevs, because, of its extraordinary nutritional value, it was considered his gift to mankind.

Raštan contains substances that activate the creation of enzymes in the liver and thus helps neutralize cancer cells. It is interesting to note that Sulforaphane is formed only when baking or chewing fresh raštan leaves at places where crops are cut. Because of this it is recommended that the plant is cut off ten minutes before cooking or eating a fresh herb. Sulforaphane from this plant offers protection for those genetically predisposed to getting colon cancer. These are the results of research conducted at Rutgers University and published in the online magazine Carcinogenesis. Studies show that people who consume large amounts of raštan and other plants from the same family in their diet are far less likely to suffer from a number of cancerous diseases such as lung, bladder, prostate, colon, breast and ovarian cancer.

Raštan, or black cabbage, as they call it in Boka Bay, grew up in all the hillsides of Boka. It is growing also today. Somewhat grow wild, sacrificing the owners, who, if not sold for construction, then abandoned their farms. It is planted everywhere in the gardens, because even today, at this time of year, the scent of raštan from numerous households spreads. It's available at fresh food markets, even supermarkets. The best option is to visit some farm and ask for this vegetable. But, you need to know some tricks developed for centuries to come up with this hard, resistive and rewarding plant whose nutritional value is growing during thermal processing.

Raštan is rich in flavonoids called maempferol. Studies show that women have a 40% lower risk of ovarian cancer if they bring in larger amounts of maempferol. In addition to raštan, this substance is found in green tea, broths, broccoli, spinach and blueberries.

Raštan Needs to Be Prepared Well for Cooking

It would be ideal to eat raštan 3 to 5 times a week. Before harvesting, it is necessary to clean the wooden parts of the sheet. If the leaves are used for the preparation of "japrak", raštan packs filled with sautéed meat mixed with rice, the form of the leaf should be preserved, so hard parts cleaning should be done carefully.

Cleaned leaves should be squeezed into small pieces and soaked in cold water to release excess bitterness and soften, which will significantly shorten the cooking time. The same effect will be achieved if you put it in the freezer when you cut it. Only in the last generation raštan could be softened in this way.

Raštan could be prepared in a different way. In Montenegro it is the most popular way of preparing it is with potato and dried meat. Raštan "loves" smoked pork, sausages and bacon. The meat needs to be boiled before to release the excess salt, then put it in cold water together with raštan, whole white potatoes, a little pepper and olive oil. If you are cooking in a pot, it should be cooked about 45min to an hour. It takes about an hour and a half up to two hours to prepare in a regular pot. Like all cabbage, it loses the structure and "withers" during the process. So cook it in as little water as it will accept a large portion of the nutrients from raštan.

Raštan in "Boka's Plate" by Mašo Čekić

Well known journalist and gastro nomad Mašo Miško Čekić, who we can thank for saving a great number of traditional dishes of our grandparents, offers many ways to prepare raštan. The most classic, with dry meat, Mašo says our grandmas prepare with the addition of "white", common cabbage.

Put the dry meat in cold water overnight, wash it well and boil it. Then put the meat in new water. Take out the cooked meat, remove from bones and leave it on warm. Strain the boiling water in which the meat is cooked, if necessary. Use water to cook the raštan - cut it into wider strips and the “white” cabbage in larger pieces. After twenty minutes add the potatoes to split into quarters and boil until the potatoes soften. Then put the meat back and leave to boil together with the vegetables. Your only task left is to enjoy the meal, and you will, for sure.

Raštan Was Madonna's Choice When Visiting Montenegro?

There is the story that when Madonna visited Montenegro, who is known for her healthy lifestyle and very controlled diet, preferred raštan. Raštan is rich in vitamins A, C, all B vitamins, except B12, but also magnesium, cellulose, calcium, copper, carotenoids. The combination of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients placed this vegetable in the position of a super-star of healthy food. Whether Madonna's story is true, we cannot know for sure, but this story has become a part of the great nutritional value of raštan.